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Intersect empowers a distributed network of builders and contributors to share in the belief that every voice holds value and that building together is stronger. Members forge a secure, collaborative ecosystem to ensure Cardano's sustained growth and evolution in a safe space.

Advancing Progress at the Intersection of Cardano and Its Community

Intersect is a member-driven organization at the heart of the Cardano ecosystem — placing the community at the center of Cardano’s ongoing development and direction.

Building Together to Drive Cardano Forward

Intersect is a member-based organization for the Cardano ecosystem — putting the community at the center of Cardano’s development

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Intersect | Building Together to Drive Cardano Forward

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Join the member-based organization building together to drive Cardano and its development forward. Play your part.

Intersect | Uniting the Cardano Ecosystem

Maintaining Cardano’s core technology and shaping its future roadmap brings together a diverse range of stakeholders. As a natural gathering place—a kind of town square for Cardano—Intersect empowers contributing firms and organizations to amplify their voices and actively influence the direction of the ecosystem.

Our One is Made of Many

Maintaining Cardano’s core technology and developing a roadmap for the future attracts a diverse group of stakeholders.  As a natural aggregation point - a Cardano town square - Intersect allows firms and organizations making contributions to the ecosystem to raise and elevate their voices on how Cardano should evolve.

Our One is Made of Many

Our members are the heart of Intersect. Their voices shape our community, guide our future, and drive real change within the Cardano ecosystem. Here’s what they have to say about being part of something bigger. 

What our members say

Intersect empowers a distributed network of builders and contributors who share a common belief: that every voice matters, and we’re stronger when we build together. Our members create a secure, collaborative environment that supports Cardano’s continued growth and evolution—ensuring progress happens in a trusted and inclusive space.

Wine Pool

Cryptobounty LLC

Sapient Swarm

The Minted Brief

energiasocial

Logical Mechanism LLC

DripDropz, LLC

Permute IO

2B3D

ADA Handle

CarPool

Cardano Media Taiwan

ADA Solar

Agrow Labs Corporation

Charity DAO/ Cardano Community Charity Coin

CHOSEN FINTECH SOLUTIONS

Chainapp Technologies DOO

MISGO PCBUED

Catalyst Africa Townhall

Byron Network OÜ

Imani Partners

VESPR

EMURGO Labs

Storm Partners

Hello.one

Metafuter

DirectEd Development Foundation

Disruptive IT Cameroon (DITC)

IOBalance

Lenfi

IAMX AG

Outback Crypto

QHHQ Ltd (trading name - Upstream)

Metera Protocol

Snapbrillia

Mithr token

Pangolin Protocol

Okratech

Profila

Women In Move Solutions Pty Ltd

Swift Crypto LLC

Tangent Protocol

Vacuumlabs

Viper Science

Wanchain

Vyfinance

Web3 Sanctuary

WingRiders

Iagon

Vaka Consulting

Thesis & Dysmorphia

withspaces

Empowa

NFT Gater

Altered Vision Studios

Web3 User Group e.V.

Rare Network

We Deliver

FLUID7 Ltd

Modus Create/Tweag

Vibook

Andamio

Clarity

AmsterdamNode

Konma DAO

Maestro

Kreate

Spectrum Labs

Gimbalabs

5 phut crypto

Xerberus Labs Ltd.

Standard 1870 Inc.

GreenHealthyHouseDAO

QA-DAO

Lido Nation Foundation Inc

C.A.M.O. - the Cardano Alliance for Military Outreach

selfdriven Foundation

Tastenkunst

Anvil Development Agency

Photrek, LLC

Tatum

DCypher

Edify CoLabs

Drex Labs

Blink Labs

C-SURVEY

Dquadrant

Latam Cardano Community

Citaldoc

Pseudonymous

Summon Association

Socious

Cardano Foundation

Clover Nodes LLC

Well-Typed

Wada Global

NEWM

AdaVapes

Waffle Capital Ltd.

Intersect Development Update #65 - June 6

₳275 million budget Info action final week, treasury withdrawal poll, CC election schedule update, Intersect Dev Report #65

Welcome to Intersect’s Development Update #65. This week marks the final opportunity to vote on Intersect’s ₳275 million Budget Info Action, with just 6.5% separating DReps from quorum. SPOs are aligned, community sentiment is clear, and over 2 billion ada is still waiting to be counted. We urge all members to contact their DReps and make this vote count.&nbsp;

Treasury withdrawal poll has launched: help shape the next step

Help inform Treasury Withdrawal structure

Following the submission of the consolidated <a href="https://bit.ly/4jRFvCr" rel="noopener" target="_blank" style="color: #0600ff;">₳275.3M Budget Info Action</a> - built from over ₳3.8 billion in DRep signaling across Ekklesia - we’re now preparing for the next phase: determining how Treasury Withdrawals should be structured if the budget is approved. This isn’t Intersect’s budget alone, but a coordinated proposal shaped by community sentiment and support.

On Friday June 6 at 12:00PM UTC, we’ll launch a quick, non-binding poll in Ekklesia asking DReps to signal their preferred approach for submitting Treasury Withdrawals. Your input will help Intersect understand which structure has the most support - giving us a clear data point to move forward with confidence and to the betterment of the Cardano ecosystem overall.
The poll is a practical tool, using live DRep stake, to guide how we organize budget items into Treasury Withdrawal proposals in the coming weeks. We want to hear from DReps early to help reduce friction, improve clarity, and ensure the structure aligns with community expectations.
<h3 style="font-size: 20px;">Why this matters</h3>
Submitting a Budget Info Action was just one part of the constitutional process. If approved, Intersect must then submit on-chain Treasury Withdrawals to release funding. There are multiple ways to approach this, each with trade-offs in:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Delivery speed and operational overhead</li>
<li aria-level="1">Governance burden and DRep voting load</li>
<li aria-level="1">Assurance for builders depending on timely and predictable funding</li>
</ul>
Getting this structure right matters. We’re working within the guardrails of Cardano’s on-chain governance parameters, limited administrative bandwidth, and an ecosystem eager to see these proposals move into execution.
<h3 style="font-size: 20px;">What are the options?</h3>
While there are many ways Treasury Withdrawals could be structured, Intersect has consolidated five primary options based on extensive engagement with community members, builders, DReps, and other ecosystem participants.
Each option carries different trade-offs across granularity, governance workload, and delivery assurance. They are:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Option A: A single omnibus withdrawal for the full 2025 budget</li>
<li aria-level="1">Option B: Two withdrawals, separating proposals that received more than 67% support from those between 50%+1 and 67%</li>
<li aria-level="1">Option C: Four withdrawals, splitting proposals by support threshold and delivery year (2025 and 2026)</li>
<li aria-level="1">Option D: Ten withdrawals, grouped into five brackets by Ekklesia signal strength, submitted for both 2025 and 2026</li>
<li aria-level="1">Option E: 39 individual Treasury Withdrawals, one per proposal</li>
</ul>
You’ll find a full breakdown of each option in the <a href="https://docs.intersectmbo.org/cardano/cardano-budget-submission/treasury-withdrawal-poll" style="color: #0600ff;">voting pack</a>, including pros, cons, and possible consequences if chosen. This is intended to help you weigh the trade-offs before casting your preference in the poll.
<h3>What we’re asking</h3>
DReps will be asked to select one preferred structure for Treasury Withdrawals with the following question:
How would you like to see Intersect submit Treasury Withdrawals against our Budget Info Action?
The quick-fire poll opens Friday June 6 at 12:00PM UTC in Ekklesia and will close on Tuesday June 10 at 23:59 UTC. While this poll is not binding, it will play a critical role in shaping how Intersect proceeds.&nbsp;
We strongly encourage DReps and the broader community to read the full <a href="https://docs.intersectmbo.org/cardano/cardano-budget-submission/treasury-withdrawal-poll" rel="noopener" target="_blank" style="color: #0600ff;">voting pack</a> before submitting their choice. It contains important details on how each option affects execution, coordination, and delivery assurance.
<h3>Governance in motion</h3>
This first year of decentralized governance is a learning process for all of us. The system isn’t perfect but it’s moving. Your participation helps build the foundation for future improvements and sets the tone for how we manage large-scale, community-led funding together.
Stay tuned for the poll link tomorrow. In the meantime, you can read the full voting pack <a href="https://docs.intersectmbo.org/cardano/cardano-budget-submission/treasury-withdrawal-poll" rel="noopener" target="_blank" style="color: #0600ff;">here</a>&nbsp;

Following the submission of the consolidated <a href="https://bit.ly/4jRFvCr" rel="noopener" target="_blank" style="color: #0600ff;">₳275.3M Budget Info Action</a> - built from over ₳3.8 billion in DRep signaling across Ekklesia - we’re now preparing for the next phase: determining how Treasury Withdrawals should be structured if the budget is approved. This isn’t Intersect’s budget alone, but a coordinated proposal shaped by community sentiment and support.

Intersect’s 2025 Budget Info Action: 39 community-led initiatives powering the future

The Budget Info Action brings together 39 proposals that reflect the community's perceptions of opportunities, needs, and momentum.


Cardano’s next chapter isn’t being shaped by a single organization, but by a network of builders, researchers, developers, and contributors working together to deliver real value. The <a href="https://gov.tools/connected/governance_actions/e14de8d9dc4f4ddf3fe9250a8a926e20f10e99b86bd0610b77d7a054981591ee#0">Budget&nbsp;</a><a href="https://gov.tools/connected/governance_actions/e14de8d9dc4f4ddf3fe9250a8a926e20f10e99b86bd0610b77d7a054981591ee#0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Info&nbsp;Action (BIA</a>), now live for review and discussion, brings together 39 proposals that reflect where the community sees opportunities, needs, and momentum.

These proposals have been signaled by Delegated Representatives (DReps) and are aligned to areas like protocol development, governance tooling, open source infrastructure, and ecosystem growth. Here’s a look at just some of the powerful initiatives featured in the request.
Core development and protocol engineering
Behind the scenes,&nbsp; teams are building to keep Cardano fast, stable, and scalable so users don’t have to think twice about performance.
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">IOG’s Hydra and Mithril maintenance proposals provide core protocol development for scaling and fast sync. These tools are foundational for Cardano’s future performance.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">Input Output’s other proposals encompass numerous technical enhancements, including improvements to SPO incentives, enhanced fee mechanisms, and robust&nbsp;developer testing tools. Proposals also aim to encourage node diversity and wider developer contribution through initiatives like Blueprints and Acropolis. The company also commits to a refreshed version of <a href="https://projectcatalyst.io/">Catalyst</a>, with infrastructure upgrades and direct integrations into <a href="https://www.1694.io/">CIP-1694</a>-based governance. This ensures long-term sustainability for Cardano’s funded projects.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">Looking ahead, Leios and Peras represent flagship protocol innovations designed to massively scale throughput and reduce finality time, pushing Cardano toward a high-performance, user-ready future.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">Tweag is an engineering powerhouse, contributing deep Haskell and formal verification expertise to maintain critical libraries and push forward network stability.</li>
</ul>
Governance, tooling, and coordination
These tools make it easier for everyday ada holders to vote, delegate, and participate in the direction of Cardano - no technical background required.
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">Cardano builder DAO is a smart contract-enforced, community-governed funding mechanism for application layer growth. It prioritizes transparency, accountability, and sustainable support for projects driving real adoption and ecosystem value.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">Complement Catalyst by Socious introduces quadratic funding with reputation scores to boost fairness, transparency, and community impact.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">Beyond Minimum Viable Governance will deliver a data-driven 'State of Governance' report and propose improvements based on community input. Backed by Voltaire architects, it ensures Cardano’s governance evolves with transparency and accountability.</li>
</ul>
Open source tooling and developer support
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">MLabs has submitted multiple proposals to sustain valuable developer tooling like Plutarch, CardanoOps, and Hermes, all of which support DApp and infrastructure development.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">Pallas maintains and evolves key Rust-native libraries that are essential to Cardano's infrastructure. This proposal enhances the Rust developer ecosystem by maintaining tools that are fast, secure, and reliable.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">NFTCDN is launching a global, no-cost content delivery network for Cardano native assets. It removes technical and financial barriers, providing a better UX and enabling faster app performance.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">Blockfrost offers a powerful API that lets developers build on Cardano without running their own node. This proposal supports broader access to decentralized infrastructure and lowers barriers for new builders.</li>
</ul>
Infrastructure resilience and experimentation
These proposals safeguard the backbone of the network, ensuring Cardano operates smoothly, even as the ecosystem scales and evolves through experimentation.
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Dolos: sustaining a lightweight Cardano data node powers fast, low-resource access to Cardano ledger data for DApps. Unlike full nodes, Dolos delivers high-integrity responses with minimal overhead, making it an ideal choice for teams that require responsive and cost-effective backends.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li aria-level="1">TxPipe supports the open source RPC server for Cardano and will help maintain critical plumbing for developers relying on reliable chain data.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li aria-level="1">Eternl maintenance, hardware wallet maintenance,&nbsp;integration, and Ledger app rewrite are proposals that strengthen foundational access to ada for hardware wallet users, keeping Cardano safe and accessible.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">Sundae Labs and Xerberus are supporting Intersect-administered smart contract disbursements, with reusable frameworks for transparency and accountability.</li>
</ul>
Education, onboarding, and community development
All around the world, these initiatives can open doors, providing training and onboarding for the next wave of Cardano contributors, regardless of their location.
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;" aria-level="1">Cardano ecosystem pavilions at exhibitions by Discover Cardano - showcasing Cardano-branded pavilions at major global exhibitions, helping ecosystem projects display&nbsp;their work, attract collaborators, and reach broader audiences.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li aria-level="1">Cardano Summit 2025 and regional tech events will enable community engagement and localized onboarding.</li>
<li aria-level="1">The proposal unveiling the first unified global events marketing strategy for Cardano addresses fragmented branding and inconsistent presence at global events by launching a unified, Cardano-branded events strategy. It aims to raise awareness and create powerful onboarding environments that are accessible, coherent, and purpose-built for developer outreach, enterprise engagement, and community growth.</li>
</ul>
It’s more than just marketing. It’s lowering barriers for builders to participate in high-profile events otherwise out of reach. Shared spaces to amplify the voice of Cardano’s community, offering projects accessible routes to connect, educate, and inspire at scale.
Ecosystem research and experimentation
These projects are pushing boundaries, bringing real-world use cases like identity, gaming, and data to life on Cardano.
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The Cardano Foundation, EMURGO, Rare Network, and WADA&nbsp;aims to enhance events as entry points to learn about Cardano technology, tooling, and community initiatives in person. Imagine a unified presence where newcomers find clear, simplified paths to explore, contribute, or build. This is the vision.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Input/Output:&nbsp;Research and validation streams focused on Cardano’s long-term evolution, from protocol scalability to governance mechanisms. This can keep Cardano at the cutting edge, fueling the ideas, protocols, and breakthroughs that shape the blockchain's future.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">To drive Cardano’s real-world utility, the Anzens proposal focuses on improving access to Cardano-native stablecoins like USDA - through exchange listings, institutional custody, cross-border payments, and low-cost fiat on/off-ramps that bridge DeFi and traditional finance.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">If Cardano aims to lead in privacy, interoperability, and advanced cryptography, it requires flexible and secure foundations. The proposals from MLabs empower teams to build privacy-preserving smart contracts more securely, efficiently, and with far less friction. It’s a quiet powerhouse laying groundwork for a future where Cardano supports more custom, composable, and private applications, from anonymous voting to secure identity systems.</li>
</ul>
Think about it. Developers are more likely to build privacy-enhancing features if they don’t have to reinvent cryptographic logic themselves or bear the full burden of security and maintenance.
Each of these proposals reflects a different part of Cardano’s growth story. Some maintain the core tech stack, while others build public goods or push the boundaries of possibility. All have been reviewed through <a href="https://2025budget.intersectmbo.org/ballots/680d1b63565577986442d123/proposals">Ekklesia</a> and are now in scope for treasury funding, pending approval of this BIA and subsequent approval as a Treasury Withdrawal governance action/s.
This isn’t just a budget. It’s a signal that Cardano’s ecosystem is ready to deliver. The next step is deciding how to structure treasury withdrawals in a way that is accountable, safe, and aligned with delivery.

Cardano’s next chapter isn’t being shaped by a single organization, but by a network of builders, researchers, developers, and contributors working together to deliver real value. The <a href="https://gov.tools/connected/governance_actions/e14de8d9dc4f4ddf3fe9250a8a926e20f10e99b86bd0610b77d7a054981591ee#0">Budget&nbsp;</a><a href="https://gov.tools/connected/governance_actions/e14de8d9dc4f4ddf3fe9250a8a926e20f10e99b86bd0610b77d7a054981591ee#0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Info&nbsp;Action (BIA</a>), now live for review and discussion, brings together 39 proposals that reflect where the community sees opportunities, needs, and momentum.

Intersect Development Update #64 - May 30

Budget Info Action, Constitutional Committee election final call, GovTool’s revised proposal– Intersect Dev Report #64

Welcome to Intersect’s Development Update #64. This week, we highlight the ₳275M Budget Info Action vote now live on Ekklesia, Intersect’s clarified role as Administrator in Cardano’s funding process, and the final days to register for the Constitutional Committee election. We also share updates on GovTool’s revised proposal, spotlight new enterprise members, and bring you the latest from our global community hubs. <img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdqYi0lLEaMQS3uOAEEzaKp1g9U3jmqIw8-D0tf-tb2jpPasp_JINGgFs4_9UEFfHW-bBlcqKsMKl2OLSIwLqUJDvcMCHewaSQ-gtv-BDUtTI7UQYt7CAs2wRkz9HcTJdXKmKc5TQ?key=FeZwvP2JRIQlM-1KUhIO4g" width="1250" height="482" loading="lazy">

Intersect’s Constitutional Council is not standing for election – here’s why

Stepping aside from candidacy is a reflection of the values Intersect aims to uphold: decentralization, facilitation, and trust.

Intersect isn’t a traditional institution. It’s a growing, open, member-led organization made up of the same dedicated individuals who drive Cardano forward every day: builders, SPOs, developers, dApp teams, researchers, governance thinkers, and more.
As Cardano continues to move forward toward fully decentralized governance, Intersect is also evolving and refining its role, recommitting to its founding purpose and stepping further into a lighter support layer for the ecosystem.
In that spirit, following initial decisions by our current member-led Council, the Steering Committee, and the Board, we’ve made a decision: Intersect will not stand for election to the forthcoming Constitutional Committee. This completes the mix of all appointed seats on the ICC not seeking election, but all continuing to serve up to their term length, expiring at the end of Epoch 580
This move presents another opportunity further to establish Intersect as a neutral and impartial body. This is a deliberate transition, affirming Intersect’s long-term direction: to serve the Cardano ecosystem as a neutral enabler, creating the conditions for others to build, govern, and thrive.
Why this decision matters
Intersect stepping aside from candidacy is a reflection of the values we aim to uphold - decentralization, participation, and trust.
<ul style="font-size: 20px;">
<li aria-level="1">It creates space for fresh, elected voices from across the ecosystem while moving towards a more neutral and impartial supporting body.</li>
<li aria-level="1">It is a clear signal that community-led governance is the goal.</li>
<li aria-level="1">It enables those who served to bring their experience into new constellations, whether through consortia, advisory roles, or governance innovation.</li>
</ul>
Several of our Council members have expressed interest in continuing their contributions through new community-formed groups, bringing with them the lessons learned in this formative chapter.&nbsp;
A role played with purpose
During the interim period, Intersect was given a role to act as one of seven voting members of the ICC, stewarding the Constitution and evaluating governance actions for alignment with the founding principles.
Though unelected, this role was designed with checks and separation in mind. The Intersect Constitutional Council, comprising named individuals from the Intersect membership, operated independently of the organization’s operational committees and working groups. Every decision was made with impartiality and constitutional fidelity. The members who have represented Intersect’s Constitutional Council are Hosky, Jose Miguel De Gambo, Mercy Fordwoo, Mauro Agustin Andreoli, Ubio Obu, Ian Hartwell, Juan Sierra, and Eystein Hansen.
As with all members of the interim Constitutional Committee, Intersect’s seat and Council will continue in this interim capacity until the newly elected Constitutional Committee takes effect.
What was it like to serve?
To understand the value of this service, we would like to share reflections from our Council members, individuals who have taken on the serious and sometimes invisible work of Cardano’s constitutional guardianship.
<blockquote>
"It’s less about what any individual member wants and entirely about whether a proposed action is constitutional."&nbsp; Juan Sierra — Council Member
</blockquote>
From long hours spent interpreting proposals to balancing nuance and neutrality, the role has been far more than administrative. It’s been foundational. We’ve seen how difficult and delicate it can be to navigate the intersection of principle, interpretation, and community expectations, but also how rewarding it is to do so with transparency and respect.
Members have reflected on their experiences with us, which included unexpected camaraderie, the steep learning curve, and, importantly, the pride that comes from building something new and necessary.
Enabling Governance: The Council Toolkit
To support Intersect’s Council through this period, we developed bespoke tooling to aid operations. The open source <a href="https://council-toolkit.gov.tools/">Council Toolkit</a> (see <a href="https://github.com/IntersectMBO/council-toolkit-app">repository</a>) was designed to enable council members to use standard wallet software to control Intersect’s ICC voting keys (as per the <a href="https://github.com/IntersectMBO/credential-manager">Credential Manager system</a>).
The toolkit achieves this by;
<ul style="font-size: 20px;">
<li aria-level="1">Using standard wallet interfaces to connect to Cardano wallets</li>
<li aria-level="1">Automating vote transaction inspection and validation</li>
<li aria-level="1">Allowing users to produce signatures for vote transactions</li>
</ul>
With the stepping down of the Intersect Council, Intersect plans to continue maintaining and developing this toolkit to support Cardano’s Constitutional Committee. The high-level plan is to improve the toolkit to be more generic for all Committee members, with a broader scope and feature set - see discussion <a href="https://github.com/IntersectMBO/council-toolkit-app/issues/161">Future Direction for this project</a>.
Looking ahead
As with all members of the ICC, Intersect’s role was always intended to be temporary and fixed-term. From the outset, we knew we would seek guidance from our current Council, Steering Committee, and Governing Board on the role we should play once our term concludes. With a clear signal to step back from the decision-making seat and support others in moving forward, we remain fully committed to fostering education, participation, and the smooth functioning of decentralized governance.
We’ll continue working with DReps, committees, toolmakers, and community groups - not to steer the ship, but to help ensure everyone can navigate it together.
Thank you to our Council Members
As the tenure of the Intersect Constitutional Council winds down, we extend deep thanks to every individual who took on this responsibility. Your service helped shape a pivotal moment in Cardano’s governance history. A big thank you again to all who served on the Council: Jose Miguel De Gambo, Mercy Fordwoo, Mauro Agustin Andreoli, Ubio Obu, Ian Hartwell, Hosky, Juan Sierra, Nicodermus Rodriguez, Adam Rusch, and Eystein Magnus Hansen.
The work of the Intersect Constitutional Council will continue until the fully elected Constitutional Committee has been ratified on-chain.
If you have a passion for constitutional governance, value thoughtful decision-making, and want to help shape Cardano’s future, we encourage you to consider standing as a candidate. Applications close May 31st, 6 pm UTC <a href="https://elections.constitution.gov.tools/">Apply here</a>.

Intersect isn’t a traditional institution. It’s a growing, open, member-led organization made up of the same dedicated individuals who drive Cardano forward every day: builders, SPOs, developers, dApp teams, researchers, governance thinkers, and more.

Intersect Development Update #63 - May 23

Exploring the approach to treasury withdrawals, Intersect outlines admin role, CC registration open – Intersect Dev Report #63 

This week’s report dives into the evolving structure and a new approach to phased treasury withdrawals, including upcoming Ekklesia polling. We also unpack Intersect’s role in the Cardano ecosystem funding process. Constitutional Committee candidate registration remains open through May 31. Across the ecosystem, community hubs remain active, the open source team shares April’s development metrics, and GovTool development continues despite budget uncertainty.

Understanding Intersect's role in the Cardano ecosystem funding process

This blog begins a three-part series explaining the core mechanisms behind Cardano’s evolving treasury funding and governance infrastructure.

This blog is aligned with Intersect’s public <a href="https://bit.ly/Interadmin">presentation</a> on its role as administrator and incorporates information from the 2025 Treasury working group, legal guidance, and oversight committee planning. It draws on the precedent set throughout 2024 and reflects the evolving practices now used to operationalize Intersect’s role as an Administrator supporting Cardano’s on-chain funding process.
This blog begins a three-part series explaining the core mechanisms behind Cardano’s evolving treasury funding and governance infrastructure. This first part focuses on Intersect’s role as administrator. The second and third posts will explore the smart contract systems underpinning budget management and the process for vendors to receive treasury funds.
Understanding the key players involved, particularly Cardano Development Holdings, is essential.
An overview of Cardano Development Holdings
The Cardano Development Holdings (CDH) is a legal entity established to support the Cardano ecosystem by serving as the contracting counterparty for approved proposals. It provides legal clarity, addresses tax and liability considerations, and ensures agreements are accessible across jurisdictions. CDH enables Intersect to focus on its core role of facilitating decentralized governance without becoming a direct contractor while allowing for traditional arbitration when needed.
Intersect has been appointed as the sole Administrator of CDH and is authorized to act on its behalf. CDH cannot operate independently and is required to follow Intersect’s instructions, always within the scope of advancing Cardano. In practice, Intersect manages agreements, oversees delivery, and ensures transparency. CDH may provide custodial support when appropriate, including for Intersect’s budget or related ecosystem initiatives. Where possible, disbursements are handled through on-chain, escrow-based smart contracts to support auditability and community visibility.
Intersect’s role in the funding structure
As Administrator, Intersect ensures that community decisions are carried out efficiently, transparently, and in line with the Cardano Constitution. This includes legal contract creation, smart contract deployment for fund disbursement, ongoing delivery assurance, and community-enabled oversight mechanisms.
Meeting constitutional requirements
The Cardano Constitution mandates that treasury withdrawals include independent audits, on-chain oversight, and separate, auditable accounts that delegate to the auto-abstain voting option (not an SPO).
‘Budget administrators must comply with the Cardano Constitution Article IV Section 2: ‘Development of Cardano Blockchain ecosystem budgets and the administration of such budgets shall utilize, to the extent possible and beneficial, smart contracts and other blockchain-based tools to facilitate decision-making and ensure transparency.’
Intersect addresses these mandates by deploying treasury reserve and vendor smart contracts. These contracts ring-fence ada for specific community-approved projects and milestones, ensuring funds and progress are auditable on-chain. In addition, Intersect provides off-chain reporting for broader accessibility.
Treasury reserve and vendor contracts
<img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfk11kAjX7fdHAenSoQtIVnAZIls5AKrSa0LdkObEXj3cKbW58_ggXOVxbiqZtCvzMJgw1eM3nGjxot_zYHK6OEzDYBjJT21AeNJBMGatM0H3PP1oI5inbMfqxA_pLtIa7OdhtDgw?key=kZa8IRAsacdbvMYMmyNe3A" width="900" height="259" loading="lazy" style="width: 900px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"> Through the decentralized smart contract framework, we will utilize two primary types of smart contracts, Treasury Reserve Contracts and Vendor Contracts, to manage and disburse approved treasury funds transparently.
Treasury Reserve Contracts act as reserve accounts on-chain, holding ada allocated through DRep-approved treasury withdrawals. These contracts are non-custodial, auditable, and feature permissioned controls. Actions such as funding new Vendor Contracts, reorganizing UTXOs, or sweeping funds back to the treasury are possible within predefined limits. Prohibited actions include staking or participating in governance.
Treasury Reserve Contracts can be themed or partitioned to provide community observability, allowing for granular oversight and reducing risk by avoiding the centralization of funds.
Vendor Contracts are created once legal contracts between CDH and vendors are in place. They receive funding from Treasury Reserve Contracts and are designed with milestone-based disbursements. These contracts are also permissioned, allowing oversight committees to pause, resume, or modify milestones if necessary. Unclaimed or locked funds can be returned to the treasury.
Permissions for both contract types are controlled via multisignature structures, defined during the governance process. Oversight committees are granted access to these permissions, ensuring that all on-chain actions are transparent and community-auditable.
Cardano-first disbursement policy
Intersect operates under an ada-first policy, which reflects the Cardano Constitution’s emphasis on transparency, decentralization, and native asset utility. This policy ensures that payments are made in ada wherever possible, with conversion and custody decisions remaining with the vendor only when necessary and at their sole discretion.
Due diligence and contracting
Intersect performs due diligence via third-party KYC/KYB checks to verify vendors. Upon approval, Intersect creates a traditional legal contract outlining terms and deliverables and, wherever possible and available, deploys corresponding smart contracts linked to milestone disbursements. The legal and smart contracts are designed to work in tandem: one governs scope and protections, the other enforces disbursement and transparency.
Delivery assurance and oversight
Intersect’s Delivery Assurance team, supported where possible by recommendations from relevant committees, provides progress updates on funded proposals. Vendor progress can be tracked transparently through the smart contract framework and the oversight committee.
Vendors are responsible for milestone delivery and must provide publicly available evidence, ideally accompanied by attestation from a capable third party. These attestations are linked to on-chain milestones.
As a feature of the smart contract framework, an Oversight Committee (independent of Intersect) may pause or amend contracts if unmet milestones are identified. These actions are captured and auditable on-chain.&nbsp;
<img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfOMEIysaPcmHVwR3teZ92wqbmlqndaSmk3REqXDmxP_VdZowBWKyU9fGtoao_F70qyCLS5XbrquyODX8OMxS6h_CYPfY3hm2iIHO1NbXZxP8BLmNLVFMlorohcB4A6kiHzdeiJLQ?key=kZa8IRAsacdbvMYMmyNe3A" width="900" height="197" loading="lazy" style="width: 900px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;">
While best practices suggest independent attestation, vendors may formally self-attest with senior accountability when external verification is impractical. This ensures transparency and a basis for future dispute resolution.
Importantly, Intersect is responsible for ensuring the process is followed, not for evaluating the quality of the deliverables. Accountability for delivery lies with vendors and ultimately, the Cardano community.
Is there anything that is not Intersect’s responsibility?
Yes. While Intersect plays an administrative and coordination role, there are specific areas where vendors are responsible. This includes verifying technical conformance, acceptance testing, formal code reviews, and security audits. In particular, any code or features intended for integration into core Haskell repositories, such as consensus, ledger, or network, must comply with the standards set out in the Cardano Engineering Handbook. These activities, when required as part of a protocol change or hard fork initiation, are the responsibility and cost of the vendor. Intersect will continue to support vendors wherever possible, but does not carry the obligation to deliver or fund these technical reviews.
In conclusion
Intersect’s role as Administrator of the Cardano Development Holdings is designed to enable community-led funding decisions to be executed with legal clarity, operational discipline, and on-chain transparency. While Intersect facilitates the process from due diligence to smart contract deployment and delivery assurance, accountability for execution rests with vendors and, ultimately, the Cardano community. By combining traditional contracting, automated disbursements, and oversight mechanisms, this framework ensures that treasury resources are used to serve Cardano’s long-term resilience and open participation.
For further details on smart contracts, governance processes, or vendor expectations, please visit our <a href="https://docs.intersectmbo.org/cardano/cardano-budget-submission/budget-info-action-faqs">FAQ’s on our Knowledge Base</a> or reach out to the Intersect core operations team at <a href="mailto:procurement@intersectmbo.org">procurement@intersectmbo.org</a>.

This blog is aligned with Intersect’s public <a href="https://bit.ly/Interadmin">presentation</a> on its role as administrator and incorporates information from the 2025 Treasury working group, legal guidance, and oversight committee planning. It draws on the precedent set throughout 2024 and reflects the evolving practices now used to operationalize Intersect’s role as an Administrator supporting Cardano’s on-chain funding process.

Intersect Development Update #62 - May 16

Intersect submits ₳275M Budget Info Action, Intersect committee election results, Constitutional election registration open -  Intersect Dev Report #62

Welcome to Intersect’s Development Update #62. This week, Intersect submitted its ₳275m Budget Info Action to the chain, marking a significant milestone. Committee election results are in, with 36 new members elected across eight committees, and an independent audit confirming the results! Meanwhile, candidate registration remains open for the Constitutional Committee until May 31; there’s still time to get involved! <img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeXAyh9LkY7IlA4Ul-tU48njrQVaAzCDCTrQscGQc852LeJWXO4lFWwtdRb9cg2vMlWU3xcxP6pSG4EfjMyEEwzEs8pz4ScEPeUZXgugTWRcOzKDn3bKREch7QXF5u0QQoEt5ji?key=6wvnzo0m_pU2_BhpKpX0xQ" width="1250" height="938" loading="lazy">

Making sense of the ₳275M Budget Info Action

This week, Intersect submitted a Budget Info Action to the Cardano community. It proposes an aggregate budget of ₳275,269,340 to fund a set of ecosystem initiatives over a 12-month period. The number is significant, but it represents more than a funding request. It reflects the outcome of a structured, community-driven process that involved public input, delegated representative (DRep) voting, and alignment with the roadmap approved earlier this year. To understand how to interpret this proposal, it’s important to unpack what it represents, how it works, and what comes next.

This Budget Info Action was not created in isolation. It is the result of a coordinated submission process that ran from early April to early May. During that time, 194 proposals were submitted, reviewed, and made available for DReps to signal support through the Ekklesia platform. Over ₳3.8 billion in live stake participated. Of those proposals, 39 reached the required threshold of over 50 percent DRep approval and named Intersect as their administrator. These proposals now make up the contents of this on-chain submission. In short, this budget is not a wishlist. It is a reflection of what DReps have already backed through a transparent and verifiable process.
Getting it on-chain
The omnibus format was chosen for this cycle because it helped preserve the integrity of the DRep signal that closed on May 5, 2025 while keeping the governance process manageable. Additionally, submitting each proposal separately would have required dozens of individual votes, increasing the operational burden on DReps and the interim Constitutional Committee. That said, there are trade-offs. A single vote at this stage means less granularity, and it places a higher coordination load on us as an Administrator.&nbsp;
We recognise that this approach may not be ideal in the long term. If the community prefers a more modular or individual submission model in future, that can be adopted. Following this budget cycle, we will be running a full retrospective with members and the wider community to evaluate what worked, what didn’t, and how the process can be improved. This will form the foundation for rebuilding a clearer and more effective model for future funding rounds, including rethinking how much coordination is needed in building a budget, and what role different actors in the ecosystem should play.
For now, this format provides a practical way to respect the outcomes of the signaling process and maintain forward momentum. If this Budget Info Action is rejected, it will offer a clear, on-chain expression of community preference and give us the concrete data we need to adapt. Without submitting it, we would be relying on assumptions and informal sentiment instead of engaging the governance process as designed.
What this budget could deliver for Cardano
If approved, this budget could enable meaningful progress across many areas of the ecosystem over the next 12 months. The 39 proposals included reflect a range of community priorities, from technical infrastructure and governance to developer tools and ecosystem growth.
Some of the key outcomes include:
<ul data-start="475" data-end="1362">
<li data-start="475" data-end="651">
Continued core development and research from Input Output, including engineering work on the Cardano node, governance features, and projects aligned with the Cardano Vision
</li>
<li data-start="652" data-end="753">
Funding for the Catalyst program to support innovation and experimentation in treasury allocation
</li>
<li data-start="754" data-end="892">
Maintenance and development of critical open source tooling, including Lucid, PyCardano, OpShin, Blockfrost, and MLabs-led initiatives
</li>
<li data-start="893" data-end="1052">
Strengthening of governance infrastructure through tools for DReps, funding mechanisms like quadratic voting, and structured community input on the roadmap
</li>
<li data-start="1053" data-end="1191">
Expanded ecosystem visibility through the 2025 Cardano Summit, global exhibitions, regional events, and foundational marketing efforts
</li>
<li data-start="1192" data-end="1362">
Investment in emerging technologies such as rollups, zero-knowledge systems, new wallet infrastructure, and bridges that support future scalability and interoperability
</li>
</ul>
This is not a budget tied to a single deliverable. It is a reflection of what the community, through DReps, has already signaled as important for Cardano's continued growth and resilience.
Developing our role as an Administrator
Intersect has been requested to act as the Administrator for the 39 proposals included in this budget. This role involves completing due diligence, entering into agreements where applicable, and overseeing the responsible release of funds in line with the terms set out in each proposal. Not all proposals use milestone-based payment structures, but all are subject to oversight. Contracts and disbursement terms will vary depending on the nature of the work, but in all cases, they are designed to balance flexibility with accountability.&nbsp;
A new public dashboard is also being developed by <a href="https://www.xerberus.io/">Xerberus</a> to track delivery status, spending, and performance updates for each funded proposal.
Disbursing funds requires additional approval
The budget info action does not release any funds. It only authorises the proposals for inclusion in an official budget. Any actual movement of funds will require a second step through treasury withdrawal governance actions. Each of these must receive more than 67 percent approval from active delegated DRep stake, stay within the active net change limit, pass due diligence including KYC/KYB and AML checks where applicable, and be tied to a signed agreement with the delivery organisation.&nbsp;
Wherever possible and available, smart contract-based escrow mechanisms (developed by <a href="https://sundae.fi/">Sundae Labs</a>) will be used to manage disbursements, with oversight from Intersect and independent auditors. Funds can be paused or returned to the Cardano Treasury if contractual obligations are not met.
If the vote passes, treasury withdrawals will still need to be approved individually, requiring a higher threshold to actually move funds from the Cardano Treasury. If the vote fails, we return to the community to consider alternatives. Either way, the process moves forward. This is a moment for the community to evaluate the work it has already done and decide whether to carry it forward through the next stage of governance.
FAQs
For those looking for further clarity, we’ve also compiled a <a href="https://docs.intersectmbo.org/cardano/cardano-budget-submission/budget-info-action-faqs">list of frequently asked questions</a> covering key aspects of this proposal, including how funding works, how risk is managed, and what happens next.&nbsp;
Review and vote on the Budget Info Action in full via <a href="https://bit.ly/4jRFvCr">Gov.Tools</a>&nbsp;
&nbsp;

This week, Intersect submitted a Budget Info Action to the Cardano community. It proposes an aggregate budget of ₳275,269,340 to fund a set of ecosystem initiatives over a 12-month period. The number is significant, but it represents more than a funding request. It reflects the outcome of a structured, community-driven process that involved public input, delegated representative (DRep) voting, and alignment with the roadmap approved earlier this year. To understand how to interpret this proposal, it’s important to unpack what it represents, how it works, and what comes next.

Intersect committee election results

The 2025 Q1 elections for Intersect committees have concluded; read on for details and results.

The Cardano community answered the call in the 2025 Q1 committee elections, with 522 members, 27% of eligible voters, casting a total of 11839 ballots among 119 candidates competing for 36 seats across eight committees. Intersect hosted five X Spaces as a facilitator where candidates could introduce themselves, and electors could inform their decisions. This strong turnout is a fantastic result not only for Intersect but for the broader progress of Cardano governance, and we’re grateful to everyone who participated in strengthening our democratic foundations.
Results Congratulations to the elected candidates.&nbsp; All the members listed below have received their onboarding information package, along with congratulations and thanks from Intersect on behalf of the Cardano community. The official final numbers are as follows:&nbsp;
<img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcyvbfHNOKFQq4vZLeCNU9evJXkrIL_R3sq8FsKKOFu2gNS32BbfCXmTW3S2u-6vPluiEua0KzTbirJGYaAmEQqlj9WLTivWmS1B29jtE0Kju_15NBWm2kP4_mNsz4_9dAMR8hFww?key=ZWHsdQiOZXFmCgfBXPZSxg" width="800" height="382" loading="lazy" style="width: 800px; height: auto; max-width: 100%;"> Intersect steering committee (ISC) - 711
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Sheldon Hunt - 230</li>
</ul>
Founding Head of Membership and Community, Intersect, now founder of Sundial Protocol&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Fred Tanaka - 153</li>
</ul>
Communications and business development executive, Japan and USA
Cardano civics (CCC) - 1811
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Nicolas Cerny - 314</li>
</ul>
Governance Lead, Cardano Foundation, re-elected to CCC
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Ken Erik Ølmheim - 267</li>
</ul>
Co-founder Krypto Labs, Norway
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Nana Safo - 215</li>
</ul>
Cross-community liaison officer, Wada Global Ltd
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Randy&nbsp;- 179</li>
</ul>
Cardano Hub Indonesia Project Manager
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Joseph Mermoz Dzubang - 173</li>
</ul>
Constitutional delegate from Cameroon
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Aleksei Seregin - 170</li>
</ul>
Seasoned sales and leadership professional, Russia.
Membership and community (MCC) - 1839
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Maureen&nbsp; Wepngong - 228</li>
</ul>
The StakeLess - DRep
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">BANDU Boaz - 210</li>
</ul>
Fostering growth and inclusivity in Africa
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Fanny Wijaya - 176</li>
</ul>
Cardano Ambassador from Indonesia
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Laurentine Djatsa - 173</li>
</ul>
Hosted the constitutional Workshop in Burkina Faso
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Nathan Angelo Kanapi - 172</li>
</ul>
Philippines delegate for the constitution
Growth and marketing (GMC) - 1740
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Tim Harrison - 300</li>
</ul>
EVP Community &amp; Ecosystem, Input | Output
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Laura Mattiucci - 209</li>
</ul>
Director of Marketing and Communications, Cardano Foundation
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Andy Hung - 186</li>
</ul>
Web3-focused business development &amp; marketing professional, Tokyo, Japan
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Hasitha Raymond - 144</li>
</ul>
Sri Lanka Hub member since 2024
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Anuj Chaudhary - 138</li>
</ul>
Content/marketing lead at Cardano Spot, working with EMURGO and Yoroi wallet 
Technical steering committee (TSC) - 1624
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Duncan Coutts - 292</li>
</ul>
Founding partner of the Haskell consultancy Well-Typed LLP, re-elected to TSC
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Sebastian Nagel - 278</li>
</ul>
Technical architect and software engineering consultant, Input | Output, Book.io, Sundae Labs
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Nicolas Biri - 258</li>
</ul>
Director of software architecture, Input | Output
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Alex Moser - 244</li>
</ul>
Head of Infrastructure at Cardano Foundation
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Neil Davies - 241</li>
</ul>
Influential Cardano developer, UK, re-elected to TSC 
Open source (OSC) - 1574
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Philip Disarro - 279</li>
</ul>
Founder of Anastasia Labs
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Arnaud Bailly - 249</li>
</ul>
Cardano pioneer developer, Cardano Foundation
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Elaine Cardenas - 238</li>
</ul>
Long time Hydra contributor, CTO at Aira
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Georg Link - 227</li>
</ul>
Influential contributor to the paid open source model, re-elected&nbsp; to OSC
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Niels Mündler - 223</li>
</ul>
Created and maintains the OpShin project 
Cardano budget (CBC) - 1598
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Kriss Baird - 277</li>
</ul>
GM, project Catalyst, re-elected to CBC
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Rita Mistry Spada - 216</li>
</ul>
Global Finance Director, Cardano Foundation, re-elected to CBC
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Megan Hess - 196</li>
</ul>
Regional Lead, Wada x Intersect partnership, Cameroon
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Dmitry Shibaev - 181</li>
</ul>
CEO, Dynamic Strategies
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Rajitha Wickramasinghe - 176</li>
</ul>
Manufacturing and Product Development,&nbsp; OREL Corporation, Sri Lanka 
Cardano product (CPC) - 942
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">James Meidinger - 254</li>
</ul>
Business Development Lead &amp; Principal Member at USDM/W3i, USA, re-elected to CPC
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Carlos Lopez De Lara - 219</li>
</ul>
Cardano developer, Input | Output, Mexico
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Tegegne Tefera - 164</li>
</ul>
Longtime Cardano enthusiast, DRep, Ethiopia.
Verification of results
Intersect engaged <a href="https://dquadrant.com/">Dquadrant</a> to conduct an independent audit of the votes between the close of voting on May 7 and the announcement of results on May 12. Dquadrant is a Netherlands-based Web3 and enterprise software firm that has been active in the Cardano ecosystem since 2017 (public launch 2021). Dqadrant performed a tally and reconciliation count of all valid votes by candidate and then compared these totals with Intersect’s internal results. An outline of the audit process:
1. Input data - Dqadrant receives vote exports (CSV &amp; JSON) by position and records cryptographic hashes. 2. Schema validation - Each voting record for each candidate must contain at least member_id, membership_type, membership_buy_date, and voting_date. 3. Eligibility checks - Membership status is verified, and its purchase date must precede the registration cutoff. 4. Timing verification - All votes must fall within the authorized voting window. 
5. Tally and reconciliation - You can download the <a href="https://docs.intersectmbo.org/intersect-voting-events/intersect-elections-2025/april-2025-committee-elections/april-2025-committee-election-results" style="font-size: 20px;">complete results here</a>
Lessons learned
With every election cycle, Intersect studies the election process in detail to discover what went well, what could be improved, and what needs to be included in the next cycle.&nbsp;
What went well:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">The X Spaces were an excellent way for candidates to introduce themselves and for electors to inform their decision</li>
<li aria-level="1">Reaching out to members was essential to encourage candidate registration - 119 candidates for 36 seats was an excellent result</li>
<li aria-level="1">Extending both the application and voting periods by a week gave members more time to participate during a busy time with other initiatives happening then</li>
</ul>
What needs improvement:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Voter turnout can be better than 27% </li>
<li aria-level="1">Intersect needs more members</li>
<li aria-level="1">More support for candidates’ campaign efforts</li>
</ul>
Additions for the next cycle:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Intersect is planning to reach out to the Cardano community through more channels, earlier and more often</li>
<li aria-level="1">Candidates should be helped to create a one-minute video supporting their campaign</li>
</ul>
Thank you to our outgoing committee members
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all outgoing committee members whose terms have ended. These individuals have been instrumental in shaping the first iterations of decentralized governance on Cardano, offering strategic input, building working group infrastructure, and helping define each committee's operational models.
These are the individuals: Alexandre Maaza, Ben Hart, Danielle Stanko – Secretary, Eystein Magnus Hansen, Vaibhav S. (Gintama), J.J. Siler, Jose de Gamboa, Katarina Ciric, Martin Marinov, Mercy Fordwoo, Michael Madoff, Mike Ward, Moritz Angermann, Nicholas Clarke, Nicolas Henin, Nori Nishigaya, Robin Boening, Romain Pellerin, Saman Farr, Sandip Pandey, Shunsuke Murasaki, Simon Fleck, Thiago Nunes, Yuki Oishi, Zachary Soesbee.
Their dedication laid the groundwork for what Intersect and Cardano governance have become. We recognize the time, energy, and care each member brought to the role and thank them for their lasting contributions to the ecosystem. As we welcome a new wave of committee members, we carry forward the legacy of those who helped build the path we walk today. Thank you to all participants
In conclusion, the Intersect team offers our warmest thanks to all who participated in these elections: the elected candidates, everyone who graciously offered their services as a candidate, and all those who took the time and trouble to record carefully considered votes.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the strong debates on Discord and X. Please continue to share your perspectives with the rest of the community.
A fresh round of elections will be held in the fourth quarter of 2025. With the experience gained so far, the Cardano community will reach amazing heights.

The Cardano community answered the call in the 2025 Q1 committee elections, with 522 members, 27% of eligible voters, casting a total of 11839 ballots among 119 candidates competing for 36 seats across eight committees. Intersect hosted five X Spaces as a facilitator where candidates could introduce themselves, and electors could inform their decisions. This strong turnout is a fantastic result not only for Intersect but for the broader progress of Cardano governance, and we’re grateful to everyone who participated in strengthening our democratic foundations.

Intersect Development Update #61 - May 9

Our budget process, Intersect committee election, Constitutional committee elections -  Intersect Dev Report #61 

Welcome to Intersect’s Development Update #61. Our budget info action, comprising 39 proposals signalled in the final temperature check will be submitted in epoch 557, with DReps set to vote on budget allocations marking the next step towards ecosystem funding. Intersect’s committee elections closed with a 27% turnout and are now in audit, while candidate registration is open for the Constitutional Committee!

Moving forward: a strong signal as we build a budget info action together

Over the past few weeks, Intersect has coordinated an off-chain process to gather community input on budget priorities for Cardano. We recognise that a lot changed along the way, and we know that has been far from smooth. We made adjustments in response to community feedback and tried to stay agile, even if the process wasn’t perfect.

What we’ve seen so far
The final temperature check via <a href="https://2025budget.intersectmbo.org/">Ekklesia</a> concludes that 40 proposals have crossed the threshold set by the Budget Committee, which required support from more than 50% of participating stake in our off-chain process.
Participation in the process has been strong, with more than ₳3.8 billion in stake engaged, representing over 70% active stake on mainnet. In our view, these are encouraging signs and provide DReps with a credible signal of where community support lies. This also offers a sound basis for considering which proposals may be supported if raised on-chain.
This process was always intended as a way to collectively shape a budget info action ahead of any formal on-chain vote. Whether this remains the best approach is open for discussion as we continue to rethink Intersect’s role in coordinating these efforts.
<h2 style="font-size: 20px;">The final temperature check count</h2>
Given that this is the first live use of the Ekklesia tool, we are working to ensure that all finalized ballot data is accurate before publishing and submitting it for final ratification on-chain - serving as an immutable reference for our off-chain process. This work is expected to conclude on 6 May 2025, with final publication anticipated before the start of epoch 557 on Friday, 9 May 2025.
<h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Reconsidering the second signaling window</h2>
A second, follow-up signalling window via Ekklesia was recently suggested to give vendors another opportunity to demonstrate the value of their proposals to DReps and the wider community, particularly if they felt they could act on the feedback received and improve their proposals accordingly.
However, we've also heard clear and consistent feedback from both DReps and community members that this cycle should now come to a close. Many highlighted the need to pause, reflect, and focus on rebuilding and improving the process going forward. Others noted that the current set of proposals crossing the threshold, amounting to approximately ₳280 million, is sufficient for now, leaving headroom under the net change limit (NCL) for direct or alternative budget info actions in the future.
Following a decision by the Budget Committee yesterday, we are not moving forward with a second round of signaling. We recognise this is another change in a process that has already seen several and evolved significantly. But given the strong desire to reflect a broad community view, and considering what the current 40 proposals represent for Cardano, the Budget committee believe it is the right moment to pause here - creating space for the community to move beyond the off-chain process and formally test support on-chain.
<h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Acknowledging alternative funding routes</h2>
It’s also important to recognise that several alternative funding pathways have emerged through this process. Catalyst, Cardano Builder DAO, and the Intersect open source office &amp; committee have collectively had signalling approving focus areas representing an estimated ₳75 million in potential ecosystem funding, if approved on-chain. This ₳75 million sits within the approximately ₳280 million in proposals that passed the signaling threshold and would be made available&nbsp;if the budget info action and subsequent treasury withdrawal is approved.
These alternative routes provide meaningful funding opportunities for proposers whose ideas may not continue through this cycle but remain valuable to the ecosystem.
<h2 style="font-size: 20px;">What happens next</h2>
Given that all stages of this process have so far taken place off-chain, the Budget committee agreed to move forward with submitting an on-chain budget info action. This decision recognises the level of participation, the signals received, and the shared desire to respect Cardano’s on-chain governance framework with a pause to off-chain processes.&nbsp;
We’ll be reaching out to all successful proposers in the coming days to help shape the contracting stage, ensuring a smooth transition from proposal to delivery. We will also be holding open AMAs for the broader community to provide feedback on the set-up and Intersect’s role as an Administrator
Following the budget info action, if approved, we plan to raise a treasury withdrawal action shortly after. This will include further clarification around the smart contract-based funding framework being built by <a href="https://sundae.fi/">Sundae Labs</a>, outlining how disbursements will be managed and monitored in alignment with the Constitution.
<h2 style="font-size: 20px;">Thank you</h2>
This marks the conclusion of this stage in the budget cycle for Intersect, whilst it opens the next chapter on-chain and beyond. We want to thank everyone who participated, whether by submitting proposals, providing feedback, engaging in discussions, or signaling preferences, and reaffirm our commitment to working with the community to improve and evolve these processes together.

Over the past few weeks, Intersect has coordinated an off-chain process to gather community input on budget priorities for Cardano. We recognise that a lot changed along the way, and we know that has been far from smooth. We made adjustments in response to community feedback and tried to stay agile, even if the process wasn’t perfect.

Next steps with the budget process

The process for determining which proposals will be included in Intersect-submitted budget info actions involves two key steps:
<ol>
<li aria-level="1">Community signaling via Ekklesia, where DReps indicate which proposals they support for funding consideration; and, </li>
<li aria-level="1">Formal on-chain voting, where approved proposals are submitted through a budget info action and voted on by DReps. Subsequently, if approved, the next step will be to raise a Treasury Withdrawal governance action.</li>
</ol>
The first budget info action will be submitted shortly after the current Ekklesia ballot concludes on May 5 at 23:59 UTC, including all proposals that reached over 50% support in the April 26 snapshot. For proposals that did not meet the threshold in this first round, a second signaling opportunity will open in mid-May, followed by a second budget info action shortly thereafter.
This two-round signaling and voting process will conclude the 2025 budget cycle. Intersect, working with members and the broader community, will then focus on rebuilding and simplifying this process ahead of the 2026 cycle - applying what we've learned to improve clarity, usability, and trust in future budget cycles.
Why are multiple tools being used?
During the early stages of preparing for the 2025 budget process, Intersect evaluated multiple tooling options to support DReps during signaling and reconciliation. While GovTool was initially prioritized for its open APIs, an alternative interface Ekklesia was selected for this stage of the process due to its improved user experience and proposal-level polling capabilities. 
 We recognize that using multiple tools has deepened the complexity and the confusion in an already intricate process. This is far from ideal. As part of the lessons learned, Intersect will work with members and the community to simplify and tighten this process moving forward, ensuring a more seamless and unified experience in future cycles.
Ekklesia signaling: what it means
The current signaling process on Ekklesia (and previously on GovTool) is intended to surface early consensus among DReps and the community. This is the final temperature check to confirm which proposals have broad enough support to be included in the first budget info action on-chain. While this is not a formal vote, it plays a critical role in guiding DReps toward proposals that warrant further consideration on-chain.
Proposals and the snapshot
Only proposals that surpass 50% support in Ekklesia, based on the snapshot taken on April 26, will be eligible for inclusion in the first budget info action. The snapshot version is what DReps signaled support for and serves as the reference point for what enters the formal on-chain process.
You can review all proposals via Ekklesia <a href="https://2025budget.intersectmbo.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">here</a>
We recognize that some proposals, including Intersect’s, have been updated following feedback from DReps. These updates are permitted prior to submission to the on-chain vote, provided they remain within the bounds of what was signaled in Ekklesia. Specifically, proposals may not exceed the values (such as requested funding) that were present in the snapshot version, even if other details have been refined or clarified.
Once proposals are submitted as part of a budget info action on-chain, they are immutable. As this current process remains only a temperature check, final approval rests with DReps through their formal vote.
From signal to on-chain decision
The budget info action represents the formal next step. Proposals included in the budget info action are presented to DReps for an on-chain vote. This is where formal approval or rejection takes place, based on the finalized content submitted for each proposal.
It is anticipated the first budget info action submitted by Intersect will be in epoch 577.
A second opportunity to qualify
If your proposal does not meet the 50% threshold by May 5, a further opportunity to socialise your proposal in a second signaling window, which will open in mid-May. A new snapshot will be taken at that point, referencing all updates made to proposals following further feedback proposers have received. Proposers can also opt to pursue other funding opportunities if they do not want to be included in the second budget info action.
Proposals that surpass 50% support during this second and final round will be included in a second budget info action later in the budget cycle.
Closing this budget cycle
This two-round signaling and voting process will mark the conclusion of the 2025 budget cycle. From there, Intersect will work closely with members and the wider community to rebuild and simplify the process ahead of 2026, applying key lessons to improve transparency, usability, and confidence in how Intersect can facilitate coordination around Cardano’s budgeting and funding decisions.

The process for determining which proposals will be included in Intersect-submitted budget info actions involves two key steps:

Intersect Board of Directors statement on Core Budget proposals

Board of Directors statement on Core Budget proposals

During the Budget Reconciliation Workshop we have seen conflict between competing budget proposals for the development and maintenance of Cardano’s core network infrastructure.&nbsp; Specifically, several members of the Intersect Technical Steering Committee have submitted a proposal entitled, “Cardano Maintenance and Roadmap Delivery Proposal: Secure Ada Network Infrastructure for the enTire cardano communitY” (sic) which competes with the “2025 Input Output Engineering Core Development Proposal.” These two proposals have substantial overlap in the problems being addressed and solutions being offered, with different approaches from each proposer.
Recognizing that the feedback mechanism for the Budget Process was not as clear as it should have been, the Intersect Board of Directors believes that the proposal submitted by members of the TSC was made in good faith and in an attempt to set good standards. In our first attempt at building and submitting budgets for the Cardano blockchain ecosystem we have learned much and had to adjust our approach where circumstances warranted. However, we believe that Intersect, at this stage, is not in a position to fully endorse this proposal as more time is needed to consider how taking on its full scope would affect organizational structure and governance.
Because we believe that the members of Intersect and stakeholders of the Cardano blockchain ecosystem deserve the opportunity to choose their preferred approach, we invite those members of the TSC to advance their proposal independently, through a separate organizational structure.&nbsp; In this way the new organisation will be free to select vendors and identify the RFP processes it plans to use. It will be free to continue to identify Intersect (or choose any other entity) to use as an Administrator. The current proposal already put forward may serve as the proposal for the new organization.
It is very important to state that the organization is welcome to be part of Intersect as an Enterprise member and define its own structure and governance.&nbsp; Members of the organization may remain individual members of Intersect and continue to serve on the Technical Steering Committee but should not promote the proposal as coming from the TSC or from Intersect itself.
As all should know, Intersect is submitting a budget proposal that covers operating costs as well as Administrator costs for projects where Intersect is selected to act as the Administrator. Because its members may serve on multiple Intersect committees, it is important committees are not submitting proposals that potentially overlap or contradict each other. They should also not make proposals that would impose additional budgetary obligations on Intersect or that&nbsp; legally bind Intersect. The other proposals put forward by Intersect committees have been careful to respect this boundary.
Committees are a core part of Intersect’s function, but they do not define Intersect’s position alone. Intersect is a collective: a collaboration between members, committees, staff, and a community-elected board. Committees contribute to the whole, not in place of it. By their charters, the role of committees are to facilitate, co-ordinate, and recommend, but not to control the MBO as a whole. No committee has legal authority to assume obligations on behalf of Intersect. As a corporate entity only the board has the power to enter into contracts in the name of Intersect. While Intersect is voluntarily assisting with the 2025 budget coordination, it has no formal authority from the community to dictate outcomes. Our role is to serve as a facilitator on behalf of the Cardano community.
The most important consideration for the Board of Directors is to have a robust discussion about the future of Cardano’s development and governance, with Ada holders and their Delegate Representatives making the ultimate decisions on how to proceed.&nbsp; Once those decisions are made we hope that we can continue to serve the community as an administrator of projects and coordinator of activities.&nbsp; We appreciate everyone who is engaging with this process!
Signed,
Steven Lupien
Nikhil Joshi 
Kavinda Kariyapperuma
Gerard Moroney 
Adam Rusch

During the Budget Reconciliation Workshop we have seen conflict between competing budget proposals for the development and maintenance of Cardano’s core network infrastructure.&nbsp; Specifically, several members of the Intersect Technical Steering Committee have submitted a proposal entitled, “Cardano Maintenance and Roadmap Delivery Proposal: Secure Ada Network Infrastructure for the enTire cardano communitY” (sic) which competes with the “2025 Input Output Engineering Core Development Proposal.” These two proposals have substantial overlap in the problems being addressed and solutions being offered, with different approaches from each proposer.

Intersect Development Update #59 - April 25

Committee elections voting, essential DRep budget workshops, Net change limit governance actions, and more - Intersect Dev Report #59 

Welcome to Intersect’s Development Update #59! This week, we introduce Cardano’s newest website, budget reconciliation workshops, the latest on the committee elections, Treasury NCL, and a wealth of exciting community news. Let’s dive in!

Who we are and where we're going: and celebrating why we’re here

Intersect is excited to today launch a new campaign website - highlighting our shared journey in the community-driven evolution of Cardano governance.

Intersect is excited to today launch a <a href="https://anewdawn.vision/">new campaign website</a> - highlighting our shared journey in the community-driven evolution of Cardano governance.
Governance is challenging. It requires patience, resilience, and a willingness to engage deeply in complex, often procedural work. Doing this for the first time inevitably means we will occasionally misfire. It may also feel complex and uncertain, and that’s to be expected&nbsp; in the early days of decentralized governance.&nbsp;
But amidst the intensity and inevitable frustrations, there is a powerful positive: the Cardano community is in the driver's seat, shaping the future of our ecosystem through self-determining governance.
Throughout this journey, Intersect has sought to play a constructive role - supporting not just technical development, but also the evolving structures of governance. Our focus has been on helping to create a space for transparent, inclusive, and collaborative decision-making. Our goal persists: empowering the community to navigate the complexities of governance with clarity and purpose.
Amid these day-to-day challenges, this new campaign site is a moment to zoom out, pause, and reflect. Significant decisions and more hard work lies ahead, so it’s essential to appreciate how far we as a community have already come and who we've become along the way. The new website highlights just some of the individuals and groups from across the ecosystem who are actively contributing - proposing innovative ideas, driving forward research and product development, and tirelessly building the governance frameworks that underpin Cardano's future.
<img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfhaMNIEralHFOAkO9Kv7YnFX07aWG2gMFypLDVzI44K4sREF8MZaoPB_oUNDWxuyGaXGF9PjLIh3p7JTelAowe3SQNZaX5KcezE39SypELuEEBrLaEWgLXCyZzoMO6Yawyr40jHQ?key=1l92bSP-ezda5lym--nk_SpP" width="1000" height="563" loading="lazy" style="width: 1000px; height: auto; max-width: 100%;">
This initial snapshot is by no means exhaustive. Rather, it merely represents a starting point. There are thousands of contributors across Cardano, and we want to continue highlighting the incredible humans behind the code. If you feel someone else deserves recognition on the site and/or socials that will help get the word out, <a href="https://x.com/IntersectMBO">let us know via X</a>! Our community is a vibrant and diverse one, where every voice matters.
This campaign is one of several ongoing efforts to make governance more accessible and easier to engage with. In particular, it aims to reach more passive ada holders - those who haven’t yet participated, perhaps because the process can seem overly complex or distant. By providing an approachable view of the proposals, people, and activity shaping Cardano's governance today, we hope to help demystify and lower the barrier to entry for governance. It’s an opportunity to acknowledge the work underway, recognize how far we've come, and invite broader participation in the journey ahead.
The incredible caliber of members and non-members alike, plus those offering candidacy in our current committee elections, suggest an exceptionally bright future for Cardano.&nbsp;
We encourage you to <a href="https://anewdawn.vision/">visit the new website</a>, explore the stories, and consider how you might deepen your involvement - by delegating your ada, backing budget proposals that resonate with your vision, or actively contributing your own ideas through Cardano Improvement Proposals, committee recommendations, or submitting Governance Actions on-chain.&nbsp;
We also encourage you to share this website within your networks, helping others get involved and ensuring our community - and Cardano - continues to grow stronger together.
Cardano’s journey moves in real-time, shaped by every member of this community. Let’s take a moment to reflect on where we are today, and let’s move forward together, confidently, into the next chapter.&nbsp;

Intersect is excited to today launch a <a href="https://anewdawn.vision/">new campaign website</a> - highlighting our shared journey in the community-driven evolution of Cardano governance.

Cardano Budget Committee Recommendation: Threshold to include a proposal in the budget info action

The Cardano Budget Committee will recommend a polling threshold to DReps for including proposals in Intersect's budget information action.


The Cardano Budget Committee decided on April 21st to provide a recommendation to DReps regarding the polling threshold used to determine which proposals are included in the budget information action from Intersect.
A separate tool is being developed for budget reconciliation polling.&nbsp; Gov.Tool polls will be used to help prioritize proposals, but will not be used to directly determine which proposals go into the budget info action. The poll to decide which proposals will be included in the budget will take place during reconciliation workshops on April 26-28 and May 3-4. The polling tool will be available asynchronously.&nbsp; Polls during the first reconciliation cycle (April 26-28) will be used to generate a budget info action.&nbsp; Any proposals not included in this budget can be carried forward to the May 3-4 reconciliation cycle for further consideration.
Recommendation from the CBC.&nbsp; Proposals to receive treasury funding will be included in Intersect’s budget info action if:
Yes / (Yes + No) &gt; 50% by DRep stake
Abstention and non-participating stake do not impact the calculation.
This recommendation is aligned with the &gt;50% threshold required for a budget info action to pass. &nbsp; It balances the need to build off-chain consensus on the 2025 budget, thereby improving the likelihood that it will pass, while not removing any decision-making authority from the DReps.&nbsp; The CBC felt that the threshold can safely be set to &gt;50% of the participating stake because two official decisions must still follow - an on-chain vote on the budget and on chain votes for each treasury withdrawal to distribute any of the funds earmarked in the budget. Treasury withdrawals only pass with a 67% approval of DReps.&nbsp; The CBC also wanted to ensure that the threshold was not set so high that the community would have to complete many rounds of reconciliation with no comprehensive budget as an outcome, which would be detrimental to critical ecosystem activities.
In summary, this threshold will provide a strong indicator of what the community wants to see in a budget while not unnecessarily stalling progress or causing further voting fatigue in DReps.
What this means for proposals:
During each reconciliation cycle, proposals will be reviewed based on prioritization that reflects community sentiment gathered in Gov.Tools up until April 24th.&nbsp; This summary and prioritization will be presented to DReps during reconciliation.&nbsp; DReps will discuss prioritized proposals in each category and be asked to submit a poll with their opinion.&nbsp; This poll will be in a new Hydra based voting tool.&nbsp; If your proposal passes the above recommended threshold and specifies Intersect as the administrator, Intersect will include it in their budget info action.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Two reconciliation cycles are planned for 2025.&nbsp; If your proposal doesn’t pass the threshold in the first reconciliation cycle, this doesn’t mean your proposal isn’t suitable for the budget, or that it cannot be funded. &nbsp; If your proposal is ideal for Cardano Treasury funding, the DReps are likely to review it in the second reconciliation cycle.&nbsp; Alternatively, the DReps may determine that the proposal should be routed through a more suitable funding mechanism with built-in oversight mechanisms.&nbsp; One familiar route could be Catalyst (pending DRep agreement to fund Catalyst in the 2025 budget) for small innovation proposals.&nbsp; There are also several other proposals for treasury funding to create a secondary funding mechanism, such as the Builder DAO, RareEvo events, and Future Governance Workstreams proposals.&nbsp; As with Catalyst, these proposals are pending DRep approval for funding; however, any successful proposals will provide additional avenues for funding.
Join us for reconciliation workshops to hear final questions and feedback on your proposals from DReps.&nbsp; Register here: <a href="https://lu.ma/cardanobudgetprocess" style="font-size: 11px;">https://lu.ma/cardanobudgetprocess</a>

The Cardano Budget Committee decided on April 21st to provide a recommendation to DReps regarding the polling threshold used to determine which proposals are included in the budget information action from Intersect.

Intersect Development Update #58 - April 18

Committee elections voting, essential DRep budget workshops, Net change limit governance actions, and more - Intersect Dev Report #58

Welcome to Intersect’s Development Update #58! This week, voting opens for the Intersect committee elections—an important step in shaping Cardano’s governance. We also cover the ongoing governance action on the Cardano budget’s net change limit, new smart contract tooling for treasury management, and continued support for DReps through weekly sessions. Additionally, we share highlights from Intersect’s presence at TEAMZ in Japan, and conclude with the latest governance statistics, tool updates, and community resources. - Let’s dive in!

Smart Contracts and Cardano budgets

Discover how smart contracts power new treasury tools for Intersect and Cardano. Learn more, share feedback, and get involved.

This blog post highlights the growing power of smart contracts in action. It introduces new treasury management tools designed to support the Intersect membership and wider Cardano community—and invites you to explore, give feedback, and get involved.
Introduction
Smart contracts are a valuable innovation of Web3, providing programmable logic to transactions. Such logic is extremely valuable when building transparent and safe mechanisms for managing Cardano’s budget(s). Smart contracts on Cardano
Cardano’s EUTXO model differs significantly from account-based systems in terms of the architecture of smart contracts. Smart contract scripts are associated with their own addresses on-chain and are executed when UTXOs at the script address are spent.
Cardano has two types of script: native scripts, which are simple and quite limited in expressiveness, and Plutus Core scripts, which are much more expressive. The most significant smart contracts on Cardano are all built with Plutus Core.
Smart contracts allow us to enforce behavior when spending UTXOs programmatically. This ability to add arbitrary logic is extremely useful. We move to can’t be evil instead of relying on don't be evil.
Smart contracts and budgets
Cardano’s treasury funds are collectively owned and managed by ada holders via Cardano’s on-chain government. Delegated representatives (DReps) and the Constitutional Committee must explicitly vote to approve every withdrawal from the Cardano treasury within a budget.
Administrators of Cardano budgets must strive for transparency and accountability when administering treasury funds. Smart contracts are a tool that should be used to enforce transparency and desirable behaviour.
Applying smart contracts to manage treasury funds reduces the need for trusting intermediaries to control funds. Rather, treasury funds can remain at script addresses, only moving when strict conditions are met. This drastically reduces the amount of trust needed to be placed on third parties to act in desirable ways.
Funds managed via smart contracts are transparent. With data being stored on-chain, all actions are observable. Every stakeholder can view and verify funds independently. The advantage is that it allows good administrators to prove their worth while allowing any undesirable behaviour to be noticed and called out.
Furthermore, budget administrators must comply with the Cardano Constitution Article IV Section 2: ‘Development of Cardano Blockchain ecosystem budgets and the administration of such budgets shall utilize, to the extent possible and beneficial, smart contracts and other blockchain-based tools to facilitate decision-making and ensure transparency.’
When withdrawing funds from the treasury, withdrawing funds into smart contracts would benefit budget administrators, Cardano, and its government.
State of tooling
The Treasury Management Tooling Working Group under the Cardano Budget Committee has been focused on the scope and development of treasury management tooling while aiming to maximise the use of smart contracts.
The group has been actively developing tooling proposals in close collaboration with IO engineering, Sundae Labs, and Xerberous, ensuring the entire community is part of this journey.
<a href="https://sundae.fi/">Sundae Labs</a> has been developing on-chain smart contracts designed for treasury management, <a href="https://github.com/SundaeSwap-finance/treasury-contracts">SundaeSwap-Finance/treasury contracts,</a> and an accompanying web-based interface for budget administrators, auditors, and vendors to interact with the smart contracts.
<a href="https://www.xerberus.io/">Xerberous</a> has been building tooling to create dashboards and analytics tracking budget funds and smart contracts, enhancing the transparency of on-chain data.
Design
The current design thinking aims to
<ul>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">Build smart contract-based tooling to support the management of budgeted treasury funds.</li>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">Address the needs of key stakeholders: DReps, Budget Administrators, Budget Vendors, Constitutional Committee, and the Cardano ecosystem.</li>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">Provide safe, transparent, and flexible mechanisms for allocating funding to vendor contracts.</li>
</ul>
The current design splits logic across two types of smart contracts: Treasury Reserve contracts and Vendor contracts.
(Treasury) Reserve contracts act as intermediate holding areas, receiving funds from treasury withdrawal governance actions. The logic in these contracts enforces how funds can be moved from the contract, allowing for flexible allocation to many vendor contracts without knowing all Vendor contract details ahead of time. This contract does not support staking or governance participation. Funds can only be sent to approved destinations:&nbsp; Vendor contracts, decentralized exchanges (for stablecoin swaps), other Treasury contracts, or returned to the treasury. This means funds cannot just be transferred to arbitrary addresses. Each reserve contract is controlled by a multi-signature (M-of-N) scheme.
Vendor contracts receive funds from a Treasury Reserve contract and represent legal agreements with individual vendors to deliver a proposal. These contracts transparently manage allocated funds, splitting UTXOs into milestone-based vendor payments. Vendors can withdraw payments within a defined timeline. Payments can be paused if a delivery has not been achieved. The contract and milestones can be completely reorganized or cancelled with the vendor's agreement, with funds returned to the Treasury Reserve contract.
There are two primary stakeholders within this proposed system. The first is the M-of-N signatories who can authorize payments from the Reserve contract, deploy vendor contracts with agreement from Vendors, and pause payments on Vendor contracts. The design allocates one of these groups per Reserve contract. It is an open question who should be included within these groups. Splitting this group by expertise makes sense with multiple Reserve contracts, with third-party auditors and administrators included.
Vendors are the other stakeholder group. Their wallet identifies them, and they can interact with associated vendor contracts. They are required to agree to initiate contract changes such as reorganizations or cancellations.
<img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXejhekc1nkpeuN91-NEJsKBt1H-sIdJKGLbFjkBCEpsbswUeyjRA4-F6wLgX7nhlSa73zdq9EyEM9OANNuBZrdliY1blji8M4dxuiB7iHHz8M4i6GY9cmN81sZ71Z17bf6bVNywRTJ2yy7E8nDzUg?key=SksRchew1aIW_gTqOlEReEn7" width="487" height="386" loading="lazy">
Off-chain design
Two separate off-chain interfaces are proposed.
An admin/management dashboard: This web interface allows the Oversight and Vendors to interact easily with the on-chain contracts, read on-chain data, and build transactions to enable writing.
A second off-chain application is proposed to independently read the on-chain data and generate dashboard displays for transparency.
<img src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXc3cS2C6Srj_eXPGyaDVCGW1BezDdfH4HrZqJgX4tEU_4pFkZ3eVJseQz5MJ0fTQ7JXIMkJwPM1IVYZRG2UGRe4xL1wB2_K4XEYI6sskJNEk_bvErByUMpp7qHcxXdrfSxyzvaEf5CpNzln_njbww?key=SksRchew1aIW_gTqOlEReEn7" width="233" height="457" loading="lazy">
Strengths and drawbacks of the design
Strengths
<ul>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">The system only allows funds to move through smart contracts; no custodian is used or needed</li>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">The system allows for funding via ada and stablecoins</li>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">The system provides for third-party auditors to control on-chain actions directly</li>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">The system allows many different individuals and entities to be in control of oversight keys, with multi-authorizations required</li>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">Transparency – All funds and contracts can be observed on-chain</li>
</ul>
Drawbacks
<ul>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">Places a lot of control on oversight groups, risking centralization of power – partly mitigated by splitting between slices</li>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">Choosing oversight key-holders will be a challenge.</li>
</ul>
Stay informed and engaged
The current draft design is still a work in progress, with many important open questions to be answered: 
<ul>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">Do oversight key holders have too much control?</li>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">Who should/could be a part of the oversight key holders?</li>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">What M-of-N thresholds should there be for oversight actions?</li>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">What criteria should be used to move funds from a reserve contract back to the Cardano Treasury?</li>
</ul>
The Treasury Management working group values and eagerly awaits all feedback and designs for treasury management tooling from the Cardano community. Your input will shape the future of our ecosystem.
Please engage via the Intersect Discord under the Budget Committee
<ul>
<li style="color: #0e0e0e;" aria-level="1">treasury-management-tooling</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

This blog post highlights the growing power of smart contracts in action. It introduces new treasury management tools designed to support the Intersect membership and wider Cardano community—and invites you to explore, give feedback, and get involved.

Intersect Development Update #57 - April 11

Committee election registration closed, Cardano budget updates, DRep support spaces, and more - Intersect Dev Report #57 

Welcome to Intersect development update #57! This week, we cover the state of committee elections, more news on the budget committee, governance in Cardano, including the constitution, the latest updates on membership and community, and more. Read on to learn about Cardano’s progress toward a self-sustaining, self-governing blockchain for the world.

Selecting a new Constitutional Committee

This election marks a significant step in Cardano's ongoing decentralization, as all seven members of the Constitutional Committee (CC) will be chosen by the community. Notably, this commitment to decentralization extends to founding institutions, which must stand for election on equal footing with all other candidates if they wish to hold a seat.
Cardano’s path toward decentralized, community-led governance continues to progress. This update outlines preparations for the upcoming Constitutional Committee (CC) elections - shaped through collaboration between Intersect members and the wider community.
Initial work began in November 2024, with ideas refined through two workshops with the Interim Constitutional Committee (ICC), drawing on lessons from the 2024 ICC elections. Priorities included more time for candidate registration, better communication, and deeper community engagement. Formally launched in January, the CC Election Working Group includes representatives from the ICC, Civics Committee, constitutional delegates, and the broader community, supported by Intersect staff. This diverse group has now finalized the election plans and timeline.
Before diving into the roadmap, let's quickly recap: What is the CC and why is its election important? The CC is a key governance body tasked with upholding and interpreting the Cardano Constitution. This ensures the long-term integrity and direction of the ecosystem align with its foundational principles. Electing the CC transfers oversight responsibility to representatives chosen by the community, representing a major milestone in Cardano's journey towards greater decentralized governance.
The process of electing this fully representative Constitutional Committee (CC) on Cardano is moving forward, with important dates planned for the coming months. While some dates might need a little tweaking, the general plan gives a good idea of how things will proceed.&nbsp;
<img src="https://44172072.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/44172072/Election-Timeline.pptx_20250324_152404_0000-1.png" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="Election-Timeline.pptx_20250324_152404_0000-1" style="height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 1920px;">
Phase 1: laying the groundwork (now - May 1)
The first stage is all about getting ready for the election. This means building a secure and easy-to-use voting tool and setting up a simple form for people who want to become candidates. Keeping everyone in the loop is also a priority, with regular updates and ’Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) sessions planned to answer questions from the community.
Phase 2: candidate registration and campaigning (May 1 - May 31)
May will be a busy month for candidates and the community. People who want to be candidates can register, and anyone holding ada can put their name forward. They'll have online spaces to share what they stand for and what they hope to achieve on the committee. There will also be more AMAs and open discussions so candidates and the community can connect directly. Candidates will apply for a two-year term. The top three winners will serve the full two years, and the next four will serve for one year. This is a one-off solution for this election period only, to enable a staggered election process as required by the constitution. Following elections should all be for a set period of time.
Phase 3: voting and transparent verification (June 10 - July 10)
Voting will happen over a whole month, giving everyone holding ada a chance to have their say in Cardano's future. The voting system is based on how much ada you hold (one lovelace equals one vote). Voters can choose up to seven candidates. All votes will be recorded securely on the Cardano blockchain, so everything is transparent and can't be changed. After voting closes, independent experts will check to make sure the results are correct. This audit information will be available for everyone in the community to see.
Phase 4: training and onboarding of elected members (July 10 - August 1)
This stage is about getting the newly elected CC members ready for their roles. They'll generate the credentials they need, and there will be a training program to help them understand their responsibilities and how to work effectively.
Phase 5: formalizing governance and implementation (August 1 - September 1)
Finally, the elected Constitutional Committee will be officially set up. Intersect, working with the new CC members, will submit an update committee governance action to formally recognize the elected members. This change will include their official credentials as well as the expiration date for each member body. Then, delegated representatives (DReps) and stake pool operators (SPOs) will vote to approve this change. Once they do, the election process will be complete, and Cardano will have its first fully elected Constitutional Committee.
Continuous refinement
The CC election working group will keep working even after the elections are done. They will&nbsp;gather feedback from the community and look at how everything went to see how to make future elections even better.

This election marks a significant step in Cardano's ongoing decentralization, as all seven members of the Constitutional Committee (CC) will be chosen by the community. Notably, this commitment to decentralization extends to founding institutions, which must stand for election on equal footing with all other candidates if they wish to hold a seat.

Cardano’s Governance

On-chain decision making

The development roadmap

Governance Roles

Participate in governance

Contribute in improving the Cardano Governance Tools

Build the future governance tools with usl

Cardano’s Governance

On-chain decision making

The development roadmap

Governance Roles

Ada Holders

Delegate Representatives (DReps)

Stake Pool Operators

Constitutional Committee

Participate in governance

Contribute in improving the Cardano Governance Tools

Build the future governance tools with usl